feel good food that's good for you

Espresso nut and seed butter is the perfect way to wake up your breakfast routine. Spread it on toast, swirl it in your morning oatmeal, slather it on apple slices, mix it into baking – eat it straight off the spoon! Easy to prepare and keeps well. You can even make it decaf.

This is a nutty way to eat coffee, for sure, but oh so good!

Espresso nut butter isn’t an invention of mine. Oh how I wish that it were! The literal melding of roasted nuts and seeds with proper, home-ground coffee is food the gods. Spreadable happiness. Comestible joy.

Actually I saw espresso nut butter for the first time on my last visit home to Florida. It was not what I really wanted. Or didn’t think I wanted.

Having read a “hot things right now” kind of article that included Big Spoon Roasters nut butter with sorghum and vanilla, I really really wanted to get some. Usually I am far too lazy to make much of an effort for anything. You are reading the words of a person who will keep snooker, or even Jeremy Kyle, on the TV if the remote is on the other end of the sofa. But I have a thing for proper sorghum syrup. The kind without a label, from a roadside stand with an honesty box. It’s a southern thing.

The good stuff has, for all its use as a natural sweetener, a decided savoury edge. Salted caramel ain’t got nothing on sorghum syrup. Absolutely gorgeous stuff. When I made a pilgrimage of sorts to the only stockist in a 250-mile radius I was crestfallen to see that it wasn’t stocked. But as I had dragged not only my little family but my sister’s family to this upscale food market I felt I had to get something. As they tapped their feet outside (I am only guessing at this.) I grabbed a hefty jar of this brand’s espresso nut butter, paid the $13.99 (!!) and left, the only non-hipster in the whole store. I duly carried it home to Scotland, carefully swaddled in newly-bought soft t-shirts, and put it in the cupboard where it languished until I had just the right bread. For $13.99 it wasn’t going on anything but sourdough. Twelve Triangles bakery came up trumps in the bread department and their crusty, chewy bread was the perfect vehicle for the inaugural spreading.

Oh. My. Days.

Espresso Peanut Butter & Oat Cookies – recipe soon!

Pretty much the next day I set about cobbling together my own. I already had everything so it was just a matter of corralling it all, popping on the oven, grabbing my blender and blending. It worked out extremely well so I am sharing it with you to make forthwith. Unless you hate nut butters or coffee you will LOVE this. I have even made some soft, dairy-free and gluten-free cookies with it, to be shared Monday so that you can make them as a Valentine’s Day pressie for an appreciative and heart shape-phobe loved one.

Its nubbly, comforting and eminently spoonable. Much like myself. 😉

Espresso Nut Butter

Espresso nut and seed butter is the perfect way to wake up your breakfast routine. Spread it on toast, swirl it in your morning oatmeal, slather it on apple slices, mix it into baking – eat it straight off the spoon! Easy to prepare and keeps well. You can even make it decaf.

3 tbsp freshly ground espresso roast coffee (more to taste; taste test before going for it) – the better the quality the better the taste for this

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Even if you are using roasted nuts and seeds, it is good to pep up those oils with a little spell in the oven. Spread the peanuts and sunflower seeds over two baking trays and roast for 12 minutes for raw nuts and 8 minutes for roasted.

2. Pulse three-quarters of the the nuts/seeds in a food processor or blender then blend for one minute. Scrape down the sides. Do this two more times then add the oil, syrup/honey and salt. Blend for one-two minutes, scraping down the sides as before. It should now be getting pretty creamy.

3. Now add the ground espresso and remaining nuts. Process for a minute or two, until it is the texture that you want. I think it is nice with some good chunky bits, but go as smooth as you wish, of course.

4. Decant into a sterilised jar, like a flip top Kilner or similar. It may be quite stiff but will soften and the oil will rise as it sits. Stir before using. The nut butter should last for a few weeks in the refrigerator.

*if you are allergic to peanuts use any nuts you like, or all sunflower seeds.

**PS:I use my Optimum 9400 Froothie power blender daily for work and home. If you want to make your own flours, nut butters, power balls, smoothies, cocktails, super smooth sauces, purees and soups like this (and loads more), use my ambassador link to get £100 off the price (as of today, 11 February 2017. Offer may stop at any date.). Includes a 30 day money back guarantee.**

Do you add instant coffee crystals (that are soluble in water) – or do you use the coffee espresso whole beans themselves in grinding? Which one is preferable for getting the proper coffee taste? I am asking this since – we don’t use espresso beans directly in drinking coffee, but rather use the hot water in which we soak the espresso beans to extract the flavor (also called filter coffee in India). On the other hand, that extracted and filtered concentrated coffee spray dried is what gives instant coffee.

hi Shravan. Yes, the actual roasted beans are used. You probably could use instant though if you prefer. Here in the UK we also drink filtered coffee, percolated coffee and other ways, but we don’t usually ingest the beans. But it is perfectly safe to do so in small amounts, especially here.

Well I know its not good to show off but…very lucky me got to try these amazingly deep and soft and utterly delicious oat expresso nut cookies, before the recipe is even up, I know, I know, I’m a very lucky friend who thankfully lives a stones through away from the very lovely Kellie so I get these amazing foodie gifts delivered by hand which are often shared over a quick cup of roasted green tea (also supplied by Kellie…btw, where did you get that tea, Pekeo?) before Kellie nips off to create some other yummy and imaginative concoction for one of her many groups. Happy days 🙂

I'm Kellie, an ex-pat American cancer health educator with a taste for global food - and big flavours - made with fresh, seasonal British ingredients. Food To Glow is mainly 'plant-based', but you will find the occasional decadent treat - usually with a healthy tweak. Although I'm an omnivore, I speak fluent vegan: most of my non-vegan recipes will have vegan alternatives, as well as gluten-free and soft food diet options where appropriate. All recipes are tested out on family, friends and/or my cancer nutrition classes at the Maggies Cancer Caring Centres. You are very welcome to read, comment and share!

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